One of Many Sleepless Nights
by TwilightRein
Summary: One of many nights in which Raito tried to stay awake. Set during thier chained time together. LxRaito


**Hey, I'm alive! **

**I've been super busy with school so I've been neglecting a bit. Darn myself and my need for a computer at home. Anywho, this is one was a request from a friend. She wanted sad, I gave her sad...I think. **

**One request down, another one to go.**

**Enjoy and review please.**

**Oh, and Happy Holidays!**

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The room hummed with the soft sound of one working laptop. Raito stared at L who was staring at the laptops' screen. Raito was used to nights like these. L would continue on staring at the screen and Raito would try and get some sleep, though it was hard. They were handcuffed and L refused to move from the couch. So Raito stayed at the far end of the couch, letting his mind wander away from him. What else was he supposed to do when chained with the most enigmatic person alive?

Discuss the wonders of life and its' many meanings? Not likely.

Raito stifled a yawn and reached over to the table in front of the couch. It was a small photo album his dad brought in from Sayu. He grinned to himself when he saw the small album. Sayu always had a habit of making little albums.

He flipped it open. A little message was scrolled at the bottom in Sayu's handwriting. The front page was covered in glitter and small hearts.

_Good Luck on your case, big brother_

The first picture was of Raito. He was around five or six. In the picture he wore his father's police jacket and hat. The hat was lopsided, covering the right side of his face. The jacket was too big on him and his arms only reached halfway through the sleeves. It was at that age he wanted to be like his father.

"So that is how you looked like younger." L stated. Raito nearly jumped. He didn't realize or noticed when L neared him. Shouldn't the rattle of chains warn him, at the least?

"Yeah. I was five." Raito said. He turned to another page and photo. This one was of Sayu's birthday. Sayu was next to him, cake all over her little face. Raito was standing next to her with a grin. His father was in the background, a laugh on his lips.

"Your sister loves you." L stated. Raito found himself nodding, lost in a nice nostalgic haze. He continued to flip through pages. One picture caught his attention. He was looking at himself around three years old. His face was covered in streaks of lipstick as well as the dressers' mirror. He was clutching the lipsticks in his small hands and the dresser was covered in powder and another assorted make-up. Scrolled at the bottom of the picture was Sayu's handwriting.

_You're first make-up encounter_

"I thought I burned that photo." Raito mumbled, closing the book with a snap. He tossed the album back on the small table in front of him and made to get up when the rattle of chains stopped him. Now irate, he sat back down this time on the floor. "Ryuzaki, when are you taking this chain off?" he asked.

"When I am sure you are not Kira." L answered, not taking his eyes off the screen. Usually, at such a response, Raito would argue back that he wasn't Kira. Instead, what reached L's ear was not a complaint but the soft snores of Raito. His head rested against the couch's cushions. It wasn't much of a sleeping spot and considering their limited walking space it was the best Raito could do. L's absolute refusal to be near the bed confused Raito and even wondered why L's preferred sleeping spot was the couch.

L went back to monitoring the laptop. He knew Raito was Kira. He just didn't have the undeniable proof. During Raito's confinement, the moment he started saying he wasn't Kira L knew Raito thought he was telling the truth. Days passed and Raito still claimed his innocence. L was sure no one else picked up the false truth embedded in Raito eyes. L knew the false truth would unravel back into a lie.

Until then, it was a waiting game.

Raito shifted a bit. His torso slipped to one side. The other night Raito had fallen of the couch and didn't wake up. The sleepless night were getting to him. "Ryuzaki..." mumbled Raito, voice laced with sleep. L looked at him. So, he wasn't asleep but he wasn't fully conscious either. "Why are you clinging to the idea of me being Kira? If I was I would be...dead, and while we waste time with this...he's still killi-" His voice faded down to a whisper. Raito tired to open his eyes but the need to sleep was too alluring for him to resist. In the end, Raito muttered something obscene about L.

A small smile graced L lips as he ignored the laptop and shifted closer to Raito. "Not likely to happen. But then..." he pressed his lips against Raito.

Raito shifted over again, falling to the carpet floor. The chain between them was so tangled up and shortened that L ended up on top of Raito who still didn't wake up. It would've been rather awkward if Raito did wake up. Though the thing he just said, L was sure the response wouldn't be so negative. L watched his sleeping face. An impulse struck L and he ran his hands through Raito perfectly combed hair. He mussed around with it, sticking up the ends as much as he could. Once the accomplished look was finished L focused his attention on the tangled chain. Raito mumbled and tired to wiggle away. When he couldn't move, due to the fact that L was sitting on him, his eyes flutter open.

"...what are you doing?" He asked. Raito was fighting to keep his eyes open. L showed the tangled chain to a barely awake Raito.

"So you can breathe better." L explained. Raito almost nodded. It was something between a nod and a yawn. Even so, Raito didn't seem to bother about L on top of him.

"...the weight is...rather...comfortable..." he whispered, slipping back into a semi-asleep state. Raito wasn't too sure he was awake because everything was in a blur except for L. The toll of many sleepless nights was getting to him. Out of all things he should dream or, not dream about, was L. He could see the enigma untangle the chains but it was all in slow motion. As if L were submerged in water.

L shifted about to a more comfortable position. Ratio watched him as he worked on the bothersome chain. L's sleeves slipped down, exposing his pale wrist. Some part of Raito mind remember the punch L could dish out. With an effort, Raito raised his arm and grasped L's exposed wrist.

"Raito-kun?" inquired L.

Raito shook his head, letting his arm fall back. Finally he drifted back into sleep. L watched the slow rise and fall of Raito's chest.

"He's amusing to watch when he is like this." L said to himself. The chain was already untangled but sitting on Raito was more comfortable than the swiveling chair he favored. Raito mumbled his last undistinguishable sentence of the night. L looked at him, the smallest of a sad smile tugging at his lips.

"I can't," answered L.

Not when he believed Raito was Kira. It would be against his judgment to do what Raito voiced. He knew Raito had no idea what he mumbled but it could shock him awake if he knew.

Almost reluctantly he got off Raito and sat down on the couch. For the rest of the night he stared at the laptop screen and Raito. For now, he couldn't do much. It was only the second week they were chained together. No doubt his main concern wouldn't be about Raito but about the current Kira. For the time being, he'd come up with some things to tease the brunette about in the morning.

"As long as I believe you are Kira I can't have you the way you want me."


End file.
